Curating Space

A long time ago in a galaxy far away…So goes the opening credits of one of the most successful movie franchises known to Hollywood. Star Wars has landed at William Ashley- keeping our gold standard of quality and design intact. Each figurine in the- just out- collection is hand crafted by Pewter maker, Royal Selangor. If some of you are having deja vu, don’t worry. Royal Selangor has been providing luxury gift-ware and home decor to our customers for over thirty years.

The Star Wars collection’s lineup consists of Limited Edition 8-inch figurines of Darth Vader, Han Solo and Princess Leia. Complementing them are smaller 4-inch figurines of Yoda, the Storm trooper and Boba Fett. Accompanying the figurines is a diorama which captures the Rancor monster in his pit, rearing to attack Luke Skywalker – a classic scene from Return of the Jedi. Over three years, more of the beloved characters will make their appearance at our store as the Star Wars series continues in a cinema near you.

Jackie’s Tip: “Collecting is no longer about keeping a cabinet of curiosities, it is about art pieces carefully curated to your own space. It is about arranging your home as a gallery of fine home decor.”

The Guest by Lladro Atelier was an invitation to cutting edge designers and artists to create a distinctive personality for this character. Designers such as Paul Smith to artists like Jaime Hayon (above) have added their signature to the Co-Lab.  Jaime’s,’Mediterranean Digital Baroque,’ show kicked off his career at London’s David Gil gallery. Each piece of The Guest by Lladro Atelier is numbered, in limited edition, and meticulously handcrafted in Seville, Spain.

“The Last Supper in a pop culture version…would make a great dinner conversation once the table is set.” Marco Brambilla

In 2013 Bernardaud celebrated a 150th anniversary with the launch of a series of limited edition dinnerware. Uber artists like Jeff Koons and Marco Brambilla to (Toronto’s own) director David Lynch jumped at the chance to take porcelain to the next level.

The (Megaplex) Last Supper is a tongue-in-cheek play on Hollywood, placing iconic film stars from Keanu Reaves to Elizabeth Taylor in Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece. Marco Brambilla, a visual artist based in New York and Berlin, is best known for Anthropocene- a public art installation in New York City (2013). This site-specific video installation visualized the dynamic between the natural and man-made to show the effect of the human species on the natural world.

“Porcelain was the emperor’s material but today it has been democratized and everybody can enjoy porcelain.” Jeff Koons

The limited edition dishware was launched just before Jeff Koons pulled off the most successful retrospective in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s history. The plates
are a representation of his life-sized porcelain figures of Bubbles the Chimp and Michael Jackson to an iconic London policeman hugging an eight-foot amusement park bear. The darling of stock brokers and hedge fund managers called this inspiration,”The Banality Series“.